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Hand-in-hand with the growth in popularity of Internet poker, and no limit Texas holdem in particular, has been the introduction of single table tournaments, often called sit-n-go tournaments. Take a quick look at any online poker room and you will find hundreds, if not thousands, of these mini tournaments running around the clock. Party Poker, being the largest Internet poker site, has been a large part of this explosion in popularity and continues to expand their offerings. One of these is the availability of two table sit-n-go no limit Texas holdem tournaments. If you are a single table tournament player moving to play in these, there will be a small adjustment period to play the two table tournaments as well as the single table ones. Here are the main differences and a few tips to make the transition smoother.
Single table tournaments pay the top three finishers (30%), while two table tournaments pay the top four (20%). Though fewer players finish in the money percentage wise, this is made up for in that the money places pay more by percentage, so if you are a strong player, you will tend to make more in the long run playing two table sit-n-go tournaments.
Much like the play at the single table tournaments, the early action can be wild and filled with the poor players eliminating themselves, or catching a lucky card and quickly doubling up. After the first two or three rounds, play tends to settle down to a more predictable state, so it is very important to only play your very best hands in these early rounds. This is one of the biggest mistakes made by otherwise good players. Hands as good as AQ and TT need to be played very carefully in the early rounds, if played at all. The blinds are so small that you will have plenty of time and chips left if you don’t play a single hand for three or four rounds.
The final two points we will cover go together, and are a continuation of the two we have already discussed. It is important to remain patient in these tournaments. You don’t have to worry about getting involved until your chip stack is small in comparison to the blinds. For example, if the blinds are 50 / 100 and you have 450, it is time to start looking for a hand that gives you a chance to double up. You also still have “fold equity”, which is enough chips to force an opponent to fold if you move all in. If your stack gets too low, it will be incorrect for an opponent to fold to an all in bet.
Finally, your goal in these tournaments must be to get into the top four. In large multi table tournaments, it is often important to accumulate a large stack to have a realistic chance to win. In two table tournaments this is not the case. Once you are in the money, the size of the blinds will allow you to win at times even when you are short stacked when you get into the money. On the other hand, when play gets down to five or six players, you can bully the small stacks to some degree by forcing them to play for all of their chips every time they enter the pot. This can allow you to pick up the blinds often.
Like most good poker players, reading suggestions and guidelines is only half the battle. Log into Party Poker and grab a seat at a two-table sit-n-go and practice. You may be surprised at how fast you adapt to the subtle differences.
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This page was last updated on June 13th, 2006.
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